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Intelligence

Erroll Southers Provides Analysis on Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's Bomb Plot

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November 1, 2010

Here is an interesting video of Erroll Southers analyzing Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the recent bomb plot against the United States. Southers is the Associate Director of the National Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) and Managing Director of Counter Terrorism for TAL Global, an international security firm. He was President Obama’s first nominee for TSA administrator and previously served as Chief of Homeland Security and Intelligence for the Los Angeles World Airports Police Department.

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Old-Fashioned Intelligence Stops Air Cargo Terror Operation

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November 1, 2010

This past Friday, in the wake of the developing air cargo terror operation related to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), concealing explosive devices in freight shipments, I was invited to contribute expert commentary to CBS affiliate talk radio WCCO in Minneapolis. My interview lasted less then 2 minutes, during which time I articulated that the plot had been interdicted through “old-fashioned” intelligence, not fancy hi-tech screening devices. I opined that the most critical aspect of the intelligence operation is information sharing between agencies and with the private sector partners who are targeted by these actions.

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Obama Walks Fine Political Line on Terror Threat

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November 1, 2010

Obama Walks Fine Political Line on Terror Threat – New York Times
Trying to manage a terrorism threat in the middle of an election campaign, the Obama administration is walking a political and national security tightrope.

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Spotlight Now On Inbound Air Cargo Screening

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November 1, 2010

I’ve been writing about inbound air cargo screening on this blog and elsewhere for some time. The recent detection of explosives in air cargo bound for the United States is now putting this issue in the spotlight. Here are some key points to note. Most importantly, the U.S. Government lacks a process to obtain data and analyze risks with respect to air cargo.

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Breaking News: Suspicious Packages Found on UPS Planes inside U.S.

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October 29, 2010

Suspicious packages, some containing improvised bomb-like devices, are being investigated in Newark, Philadelphia and other locations in the United States, according to the Wall Street Journal and other media outlets. All of the packages either originated from or have some connection to Yemen, where violence between al Qaeda and the Yemeni government has been escalating over the last month.

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Intelligence and Muscle in Texas Border Security

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October 29, 2010

Intelligence and Muscle in Texas Border Security – Border Lines
Tough talk about crime, drugs, immigrants, and the border comes naturally in Texas — and often in football analogies. Operation Linebacker, the 2005 initiative of Texas border sheriffs and sponsored by Governor Rick Perry, set the muscular, take down all line-breakers Texas commitment to border security.

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Rising Threats to Life in the Beltway

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October 28, 2010

There can be no denying that the risks to living in the Washington Beltway area are increasing. It’s an almost default answer to point to the poor safety record of the region’s Metro system, the seemingly increasing number of pedestrian/bike accidents and the regular (and unfortunate) crime statistics. But the recent sniper-esque shootings at regional military facilities and the arrest of a Pakistani, naturalized U.S. citizen for planning to attack crowded Metro stations are giving all of us in the National Capital Region a bit of concern. When it comes to emergencies, how we respond is really up to us. That is why I’m asking my co-workers, friends and neighbors – are you ready?

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Cops Using Social Media Can't Forget Good Investigation Techniques

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October 25, 2010

When we talk about social media’s relevance to law enforcement, there are two different applications – using social media to facilitate communication between cops and mining clues about suspects from social media sites. Social media tools like this allow faster progress on analyzing trends, patterns and regional issues without needing to make dozens of phone calls hoping that one of your colleagues has relevant answers to your query. However, there is a distinction between “talking” via social media, and using tried and true tools and processes for investigation and analysis.

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Forgotten Future Disaster

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October 22, 2010

According to the Washington Post, “[f]our men accused of planting bombs outside synagogues in the Bronx and plotting to fire missiles at military planes were convicted on Monday, in a case that was widely seen as an important test of the entrapment defense.” These most recent convictions, however, are a reminder that, someday, this could happen. We can’t always rely on incompetent terrorists. The problem is that, unlike 9/11, there will be little practical measures that can be done after the fact to mitigate the threat.

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The Real New Middle East Order – Part II – "Oil Security at Risk"

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October 21, 2010

In Part I of this series, we discussed the emergence of a U.S. strategy towards the Middle East built on two pillars – Oil Security and Israel Security – and the introduction of a third pillar in support of the first two – the Peace Process. In this part, we explore the impact of regional developments and U.S. actions and/or reactions on the security of oil from a U.S. strategic interest. We begin with the region’s single most important event of the last 20-plus years of the twentieth century – the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

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